In telephony, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a device or system that distributes incoming calls to a specific group of terminals for call center agents. It is often part of a computer telephony integration (CTI) system.
Routing incoming calls is the task of the ACD system. ACD systems are often found in offices that handle large volumes of incoming phone calls from callers who have no need to talk to a specific person but who require assistance from any of multiple persons (e.g., customer service representatives) at the earliest opportunity.
An ACD system typically comprises hardware for the terminals and switches, phone lines, and software for the routing strategy. The routing strategy is a rule-based set of instructions that tells the ACD how calls are handled inside the system. Typically this is an algorithm that determines the best available employee or employees to respond to a given incoming call. To help make this match, additional data are solicited and reviewed to find out why the customer is calling. Sometimes the ACD system uses the caller identification (CID) or automatic numbering identification (ANI) of the caller. In many cases, the ACD system uses an interactive voice response (IVR) system to ascertain the reason for the call.
The automated convenience of an ACD system can dramatically reduce costs for a company or enterprise since it reduces the need for human intervention. The algorithmic approach to handling a customer, however, may risk customer service when limitations of the routing strategy fail to produce a desired result sought by the customer. Consequently, improvements in ACD systems and its underlying technologies may result in improved customer service and customer satisfaction.